“The Super Bowl is a global event that blurs the lines between football and holiday” Downtown Phoenix Over the years as it has grown in popularity, the Super Bowl has become sustainability nightmare. It has become so big and one could argue, an unofficial national holiday, not thanks to the game itself, but more so because of the millions of dollars poured into funny and entertaining ads from corporations trying to sell their latest product. The event has become a hotbed for spreading information to the millions of viewers who tune into watch these commercials, as well as the game itself.
At the peak of viewing during the night, the event is said to be viewed by upwards of 100 million viewers. That is a third of the whole country! All you hear for the next week is “Did you see that Bud Light commercial?... or that Snickers commercial?” It has come to the point that the actual game is when people take their bathroom break or refill their drink because they don’t want to miss the ads. This is exactly why the Super Bowl has become a sustainability nightmare. These commercials are always promoting viewers to buy their product, a product that they most likely do not need, but now must have because it is being advertised on such an important night. “Super Bowl advertisers see a significant lift to their website visits. During Super Bowl XLI, Career Builder was the overall champ here with 1.6 million additional unique visitors to their site.” Sundog This is exactly why companies will pay top dollar to ensure that they secure a spot during the broadcast of the game. “You have to spend money to make money to make money,” and these companies definitely spend a lot of it. "This year's advertisers (for Super Bowl XLIV) paid an average of 2.7 million dollars (and as much as 3 million dollars) to secure a 30-second commercial during the game. The exposure they receive, and the money they make, is tremendous.” Captions
During Super Bowl XLI there were 101 commercials that aired during the broadcast. At around $3 million each that is an incredible amount of money being poured into ads for a single event. That doesn’t even include the multiple millions of dollars spent on advertising for the game and at the glitz and glamour put into putting on the actual game, with halftime shows, celebrity cameos, and everything else that has made the Super Bowl the icon it is today.
Since this event is so popular for its media attraction to its viewers and there is little to no promotion for sustainability in these ads or in the event all together, I am proposing to fix that…
Suggestion 1 One way that we could begin to transform the Super Bowl from a sustainability bully to a eco-friendly promoter is by mandating airtime solely for the use of promoting the initiatives of a diverse range of sustainable organizations and what they are doing to better the world. There are many people and many organizations around the world that would benefit greatly from this type of primetime exposure. Many groups are doing what they can to make a difference, but lack the necessary funding to make their dreams a reality. By lacing in spots which deal specifically with these groups they could capture the attention of millions and just like companies who generate a large boosts in website hits, these organizations could begin to get their names out their and encourage others to make a difference in their own way.
Suggestion 2 This idea takes into consideration the fact that the reason companies spend so much money to get ad space on this night is to make money and that is not likely to change. It would be a great idea to promote companies to think green by giving them incentives for promoting sustainability along with their product advertisement. Like I said, Super Bowl commercials cost companies around $3 million per 30-second slot. Companies could begin securing their spots at a discounted rate if they chose to include sustainable means of advertising their products. This could either be by coming up with more efficient products, which actually do help the environment or by partnering up with or sponsoring environmental groups to help spread their message. This second option would begin to tie together both of my suggestions and still allow the mega corporations to get their air time, and for a reduced price to themselves. Companies would be thinking green and helping organizations save the world. The only place we are beginning to see this is in automobile ads with hybrid cars and clean diesels. Audi had an ad last year advertising their green initiative A3 TDI clean diesel model. Youtube-Audi Other popular brands like Bud Light, Snickers, and Nationwide who are always at the top of popular Super Bowl commercials could really benefit and make a strong impact on their viewers by spreading the green message.
These companies have an enormous impact on how consumers spend their time and money. They are the ones that can really make a difference by promoting others to go green. By encouraging others to change and supporting environmental groups, this event could begin to make a huge impact on our values as a nation and our world as a whole.
Background Foreground
“The Super Bowl is a global event that blurs the lines between football and holiday” Downtown Phoenix
Over the years as it has grown in popularity, the Super Bowl has become sustainability nightmare. It has become so big and one could argue, an unofficial national holiday, not thanks to the game itself, but more so because of the millions of dollars poured into funny and entertaining ads from corporations trying to sell their latest product. The event has become a hotbed for spreading information to the millions of viewers who tune into watch these commercials, as well as the game itself.
At the peak of viewing during the night, the event is said to be viewed by upwards of 100 million viewers. That is a third of the whole country! All you hear for the next week is “Did you see that Bud Light commercial?... or that Snickers commercial?” It has come to the point that the actual game is when people take their bathroom break or refill their drink because they don’t want to miss the ads. This is exactly why the Super Bowl has become a sustainability nightmare. These commercials are always promoting viewers to buy their product, a product that they most likely do not need, but now must have because it is being advertised on such an important night. “Super Bowl advertisers see a significant lift to their website visits. During Super Bowl XLI, Career Builder was the overall champ here with 1.6 million additional unique visitors to their site.” Sundog This is exactly why companies will pay top dollar to ensure that they secure a spot during the broadcast of the game. “You have to spend money to make money to make money,” and these companies definitely spend a lot of it. "This year's advertisers (for Super Bowl XLIV) paid an average of 2.7 million dollars (and as much as 3 million dollars) to secure a 30-second commercial during the game. The exposure they receive, and the money they make, is tremendous.” Captions
During Super Bowl XLI there were 101 commercials that aired during the broadcast. At around $3 million each that is an incredible amount of money being poured into ads for a single event. That doesn’t even include the multiple millions of dollars spent on advertising for the game and at the glitz and glamour put into putting on the actual game, with halftime shows, celebrity cameos, and everything else that has made the Super Bowl the icon it is today.
Since this event is so popular for its media attraction to its viewers and there is little to no promotion for sustainability in these ads or in the event all together, I am proposing to fix that…
Suggestion 1
One way that we could begin to transform the Super Bowl from a sustainability bully to a eco-friendly promoter is by mandating airtime solely for the use of promoting the initiatives of a diverse range of sustainable organizations and what they are doing to better the world. There are many people and many organizations around the world that would benefit greatly from this type of primetime exposure. Many groups are doing what they can to make a difference, but lack the necessary funding to make their dreams a reality. By lacing in spots which deal specifically with these groups they could capture the attention of millions and just like companies who generate a large boosts in website hits, these organizations could begin to get their names out their and encourage others to make a difference in their own way.
Suggestion 2
This idea takes into consideration the fact that the reason companies spend so much money to get ad space on this night is to make money and that is not likely to change. It would be a great idea to promote companies to think green by giving them incentives for promoting sustainability along with their product advertisement. Like I said, Super Bowl commercials cost companies around $3 million per 30-second slot. Companies could begin securing their spots at a discounted rate if they chose to include sustainable means of advertising their products. This could either be by coming up with more efficient products, which actually do help the environment or by partnering up with or sponsoring environmental groups to help spread their message. This second option would begin to tie together both of my suggestions and still allow the mega corporations to get their air time, and for a reduced price to themselves. Companies would be thinking green and helping organizations save the world. The only place we are beginning to see this is in automobile ads with hybrid cars and clean diesels. Audi had an ad last year advertising their green initiative A3 TDI clean diesel model. Youtube-Audi Other popular brands like Bud Light, Snickers, and Nationwide who are always at the top of popular Super Bowl commercials could really benefit and make a strong impact on their viewers by spreading the green message.
These companies have an enormous impact on how consumers spend their time and money. They are the ones that can really make a difference by promoting others to go green. By encouraging others to change and supporting environmental groups, this event could begin to make a huge impact on our values as a nation and our world as a whole.
Images
"Custom Business Logos." EPS Vector Logos. Web. 28 April 2010. ****http://www.custombusinesslogos.com/eps_vector_sign_logos.htm****
"Downtown Phoenix." Phoenix Public Market: (2009). Web. 28 April 2010. ****http://www.downtownphoenix.com/blog/tag/phoenix-public-market/****
Information
"Downtown Phoenix." Phoenix Public Market: (2009). Web. 28 April 2010. ****http://www.downtownphoenix.com/blog/tag/phoenix-public-market/****
"Sundog." (2010). Web. 28 April 2010. ****http://www.sundog.net/sunblog/posts/nielsen-superbowl-stats/****
"Captioned." Super Bowl XLIV: (2010). Web. 28 April 2010. ****http://www.captions.com/****
"Technacular." Interesting Super Bowl XLI Commercials Statistics: (2007). Web. 28 April 2010. ****http://www.technacular.com/2007/02/07/interesting-super-bowl-xli-commercials-statistics/****